ContourGlobal is Awarded African Private Power Deal of the Year for its 100 MW Project in Togo

LOME, Togo, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- ContourGlobal Togo SA announced today that its 100 MW tri-fuel power project has been awarded African Private Power Deal of the Year 2009 by Euromoney's Project Finance Magazine.  Minister Dammipi Noupokou, the Togolese Minister of Mines and Energy, and representatives from ContourGlobal will accept the award on behalf of the project at the Annual Euromoney Project Finance Awards Dinner in London on 11 February 2010.  

ContourGlobal Togo's state-of-the-art 100 MW project is nearing completion and will begin full commercial operations in April 2010, four months ahead of schedule and eleven months after Wartsila, the equipment supplier and constructor of the power plant, broke ground in Lome.  ContourGlobal's project will bring affordable and reliable power to a region in which less than 15% of the population has access to electricity.  Permitted to exacting World Bank environmental standards, the power generation facility is also the first project to be successfully developed in the region since the West African Gas Pipeline commenced operations.  

The citation accompanying the award, published in the March 2010 issue of Euromoney's Project Finance magazine, drew attention to the "triple firsts" represented by the project: the largest infrastructure investment in the country's history, the first independent power project in the country and the country's first project financing.  ContourGlobal's power generating facility is also "triple fuel," being able to instantaneously switch between natural gas, heavy fuel oil and diesel, thereby providing an operating flexibility unparalleled in the region. The project's fuel switching flexibility ensures that the facility can generate electricity for Togo even if natural gas, its primary fuel source, is unavailable.

The project's financing was solely arranged and funded by the United States' Overseas Private Investment Corporation ("OPIC") and OPIC also underwrote the political risk insurance for the project.

Joseph Brandt, President and Chief Executive Officer of ContourGlobal, stated, "We are thrilled with the recognition that has been given today to ContourGlobal's Togo project.  In just two months we will begin supplying 100 MW of affordable and reliable electricity to the region and will more than double the amount of electricity currently produced in Togo. The project's success is a tribute to the bold and deliberate efforts by President Faure Gnassingbe and the Togolese government to support and encourage private investment in Togo's infrastructure.  We are proud to be their partners in developing the Togolese economy."

The Minister of Mines and Energy of the Republic of Togo, Mr. Dammipi Noupokou expressed: "The reliable power generated by ContourGlobal Togo will accelerate economic development in Togo and allow us to significantly increase access to electricity to our population and our local businesses and industries. It is the first of its kind in Togo in terms of the magnitude of cooperation with private investors in the power sector. This project is extremely important for us and the West Africa sub region."

ContourGlobal is a power and energy operating and development company headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees worldwide and over 1,300 MW of capacity in operation, under construction, or in active development in a diverse set of markets including the United States, the European Union, Brazil, Colombia, Togo, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ukraine. The Company develops and operates electric and combined heat and power businesses around the world for both governments and multinational companies.  ContourGlobal focuses both upon high-growth, under-served markets and innovative niches within developed markets – such as renewable energy and Combined Heat and Power (CHP).

In Africa, ContourGlobal is currently constructing, operating or developing electricity generating projects in four countries: Togo, Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya.  The company is also actively developing additional projects throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to ContourGlobal, the Government of Togo, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, project participants and advisors for the project are: Wartsila , ERM, Gide Loyrette Nouel, Shearman & Sterling , Aquereburu & Partners, Allen & Overy, SCP Martial Akakpo, Sargent & Lundy, Afrique Ingenierie Et Experts Consultants, SKM, Marsh & McLennan, Purvin & Gertz, Moore-McNeil, Citibank Trust Services, Ecobank-Togo, and Financial Bank-Togo.

Visit ContourGlobal on the web at www.contourglobal.com

SOURCE ContourGlobal